Tuesday, 21 June 2016

Redknapp: West Ham won't sell hero Payet

The Hammers have placed a £60 million asking price on
their star playmaker amid his fine performances for France but the
former Tottenham boss does not expect them to sell

Harry Redknapp insists West Ham will retain the services of Dimitri
Payet beyond this summer, as he is the club’s “biggest crowd favourite
since Paolo Di Canio”.
Payet has enjoyed a remarkable rise since joining the Hammers for
around £10 million from Marseille last summer and has excelled for
France at Euro 2016 thus far this summer.
West Ham have subsequently braced themselves for bids from elite
European clubs for Payet, with reports suggesting that the likes of Real
Madrid and Manchester City are monitoring his performances.Goal understands that the Hammers have subsequently placed a £60 million asking price on the playmaker,
and Redknapp insists that the club will do all they can to keep the
29-year-old as they prepare to move into the Olympic Stadium.
“I don’t think they'd sell him. West Ham have a new stadium, 60,000
stadium, Olympic Stadium, sold 50-odd thousand season tickets,” he told Betsafe.
“David Sullivan, David Gold, they aren’t into selling that club, it's
worth a fortune. They won't be short of money, I don’t see a reason why
they would sell their star player.
“The fans idolise him, he has become a superstar with the West Ham
supporters, probably the biggest crowd favourite since Paolo Di Canio. I
definitely don’t see West Ham selling Payet, he has either signed a new
contract or is on the verge of signing a new contract.
“I'm sure Slaven Bilic and the board will keep him. West Ham is an
emerging club; they were excellent last year and next year they could do
even better. Dimitri Payet will want to be part of that West Ham team;
he has loved being at the Hammers. I'm sure he'll want to stay.”

Payet scored 12 goals and provided 15 assists in 38 appearances in all competitions for West Ham last season.